Ballet dancers often wear a soft dance shoe called a ballet slipper. The ballet slipper is different from a hard pointe shoe. The ballet slipper is used for practice and performance. A typical ballet slipper has pleats on the underside of the toe. As shown in FIG. 2, typical prior art ballet slipper 100 has pleats 110 in the toe area of the forefoot that are inevitably irritating and uncomfortable to the performer's feet, impeding balance and preventing the proper articulation of the toes. To minimize the bulkiness of pleats 110 and to obtain even pleating, slipper 100 is constructed using three upper sections 120a, 120b, and 120c. Upper section 120a is joined to itself along longitudinal seam 130a and to the other two sections along transverse seam 130b. Sections 120b and 120c are joined to each other along seam 130a. However, this patchwork is aesthetically undesirable, and further, does not eliminate the pleats.
Another problem of known ballet slippers is that they fail to fit tightly and fail to conform to the toes during the execution of many ballet steps and poses. Loose slippers are unattractive and uncomfortable under many circumstances. Practice ballet slippers have been made entirely of elastic or stretchy material. However, these slippers are not suitable for dance because the slipper does not provide adequate support and protection for the foot during more strenuous performance.
Dancers commonly believe that an absence of pleats greatly enhances feel for the floor, comfort, the ability to turn, to balance, and to properly articulate the toes. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a substantially pleatless ballet slipper for performance use, which also provides a desired snug fit and support for the dancer's foot